'Grey's Anatomy's' Jesse Williams on Jackson and Lexie: 'Just having a little sex?'

After more than 40 episodes, it looks like Dr. Jackson Avery is moving out of the friend territory he has been inhabiting with the
"Grey's Anatomy" women.

And while it may seem to some viewers like his romance with Lexie Grey (
Chyler Leigh) kicked off with a sexy shower scene,
Jesse Williams says it has been a romance in the making for a while now.

"I think some people might have received it kind of abruptly like 'oh, crap, they're in the shower hooking up immediately,' like it goes from zero to 60," Williams tells
Zap2it. "But, I think if you reflect back on it as I've looked back on it, Jackson and Lexie have been around each other a lot and have come to rely on each other a lot and confide in each other."

So, does this burgeoning relationship have legs? Williams says the production is only a few episodes in front of the viewing audience and there's still lot of questions.

"The next two episodes will deal with are they an item?" he says. "Is this puppy love? Is this just a little lust, just having a little sex? And is this something that can really last? The elephant in the room is Mark [
Eric Dane]. Jackson knows that Lexie's been with Mark for a long time, has a history with him, went away from him, went back to him. He's going to have to deal with that. And everyone's going to be very aware and treading lightly and being careful about this."

Whether the couple lasts for a while or becomes a short romantic spark, Williams is glad to see that his character is finally finding someone to get close to.

"Jackson doesn't have a whole lot of relationships on the show to be honest," he tells us. "He's got April Kepner [
Sarah Drew] who he came in with, the other two were literally murdered at his workplace, he's got a little bit of rapport and relates to Meredith [
Ellen Pompeo], and I think this kind of takes it one step further with her sister. So while it's not like he's buddies with a lot of characters, I think this is something that he values."

Fans of Avery may also find this relationship exciting, because we know very little about the character and this relationship with Lexie could provide us the opportunity to get to know him better.

"I'm excited as an actor going forward that he will have somebody he could speak to and maybe open up a little more," Williams tells us. "And get to see who this guy is and get to learn a little more about his past, and also get to understand better what he'll do in the future... So, I think with Lexie, Jackson will get a chance to learn about her, but also have somebody he can feel comfortable enough to reveal stuff about himself. It's part of the courtship process, right?"